Noise Pollution
What types of noise complaints do we deal with?
Domestic Noise - This includes loud music & home entertainment, DIY & building work, car maintenance /repairs, late-night parties, barking dogs, intruder & vehicle alarms.
Commercial Noise - This includes factory noise, fan noise, chiller noise, delivery noise, construction site noise and music from pubs and clubs (licensed premises).
What should you do and how to report a noise issue
If you are affected by noise nuisance you should first try to resolve the problem direct with the person making the noise. Excessive noise from neighbours can be annoying and cause unnecessary stress and worry. In many cases it may simply be that they are unaware of the problem.
You can Report Environmental Pollution, including noise pollution, to us using our online form. If you are reporting this outside of office hours, please note we will deal with the request between 9-5 Monday to Friday.
If you're concerned that you're a noisy neighbour please read our Tips on Keeping Noise Levels Down.
What will we be able to do?
We will investigate your complaint and in doing so will need to gather the appropriate independent evidence to prove or otherwise whether the noise complained about amounts to a ‘statutory nuisance’. It does depend on the complaint, but generally we will assess the situation and/or ask whoever has made the complaint to monitor and log the problem. You may be asked to complete a Noise Nuisance Diary where you will be expected to keep the diary of events over a period of 14 days before returning it to the council. Before completing the diary we recommend that you discuss your problem with one of our officers first.
Should your noise nuisance diary suggest that a statutory nuisance is occurring, your case officer may ask to arrange an appropriate date for the installation of our noise monitoring equipment to record the noise. Your case officer will then be able to listen to and analyse the recordings made to further the investigation.
Noise nuisance diaries and noise monitoring equipment are imperative to our evidence-gathering process. Should you not return completed diary sheets or are unable to accept the installation of monitoring equipment in your property, your case officer will be unable to continue their investigation and your case will be closed.
If our evidence demonstrates that a statutory nuisance is being, or is likely to be, caused we have the ability to serve a noise abatement notice where appropriate. This requires the person responsible / the occupier or owner of the premises (as appropriate) to stop the nuisance. Failure to comply with an Abatement Notice is an offence and may result in us taking legal action.
Intruder & Vehicle Alarms
For information on noise from Intruder and Vehicle Alarms, please see the Intruder and Vehicle Alarms page.
Licensed Premises
If noise is coming from Licensed Premises then we may not need to prove a statutory nuisance. Licences are issued with conditions in order to ensure that disturbance caused to the general public is kept to a minimum. Action can be taken against premises that operate outside of its licensing conditions.
Construction sites
Construction noise is part of development and therefore a restriction on working hours is often prescribed as part of their planning permission, however it can also be controlled by Environmental Health.
Generally the Council would expect noisy work on construction and demolition sites to be limited to:
- Monday to Friday – 08:00 to 18:00-hrs
- Saturday – 08:00 to 13:00-hrs
- At no time on Sundays or Public Holidays
If you are planning construction or demolition works, please fill out the Section 61 Prior Consent Application Form and send it to environmental.health@eastherts.gov.uk.
If you have concerns about the noise from a construction or demolition site you should contact the Environmental Health team.
Aircraft noise
We have no powers in relation to aircraft noise, please contact the Civil Aviation Authority.
